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Renewed attempts by Pennsylvania House Republicans to boost natural gas production by ending a ban on new drilling on public lands, among other measures, are unlikely to succeed because the industry already owns many unused leases on those lands, and because it lacks the pipeline capacity to take any new gas to market even if it was produced, analysts said.
The measures seek to halt Gov. Tom Wolf’s moratorium on new drilling under state forests.
Despite Republican calls for higher gas production, IFO figures show it actually increased by 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with a year earlier, suggesting more downward pressure on prices.
The state says it is working to fill roughly 80 vacant positions
Tens of thousands of unemployment claims remain unresolved, according to state data.